Maxwell, who comes from a military family in which both his father and mother were officers in the Navy, always has been intrigued by the Navy SEALs.

"I had seen a few documentaries on the Discovery Channel and National Geographic, so it was actually cool to be out there to see the guys," Maxwell said. "It was cool to be able to get a glimpse of what these guys have to do to become the elite fighting force of the United States."

The highlight was being able to fire live weapons, including an M4 rifle and a handgun, in an indoor range. Maxwell and Bixler were among those who had never fired a weapon before, and Luhnow said Myers, Snyder and Harrell handled their weapons like pros.

"It was cool, man," Bixler said. "They were really nice and informative and really open to allowing us to be in their personal space and see what they do every day. We were able to see how they train, where they train and watch some guys in action. We got to shoot some guns, too, which was very cool."